The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 has lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:44.523 minutes.That time makes the Golf GTI the fastest front-wheel-drive production car to lap the ‘Ring, edging the Honda Civic Type R by a half-second.The record-setting special-edition hatchback, which isn’t sold in the United States, was piloted by VW development driver Benjamin Leuchter.
Golf GTI fans have earned some bragging rights over their Honda-loving rivals. That’s because Germany’s OG hot hatch just set a notable new record on the country’s most famous racetrack. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 is now the fastest front-wheel-drive production car to ever lap the 12.94-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife. While it was by a very slim margin, the GTI stole the title from the Honda Civic Type R.
Volkswagen
Behind the wheel of the record-setting Golf GTI was Benjamin Leuchter, a professional racer and Volkswagen development driver. He guided the GTI Edition 50 to a time of 7:44.523 minutes. For comparison, the Civic Type R posted a 7:44.881 lap time, a difference of less than a half-second. Third place belongs to the Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R, which posted a time of 7:45.399.
Not only was the special-edition GTI faster than the CTR, but VW says it’s now the fastest factory-spec Golf model to ever lap the “Green Hell,” a list that includes an earlier run of the Edition 50 (7:46.13) as well as the all-wheel-drive Golf R 20 Years edition (7:53.219).
The GTI that set the record isn’t like the one that’s currently sold at VW dealerships in the United States. It’s a 50th-anniversary edition that’s only available overseas. And it packs a more powerful punch, with its turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four producing 321 horsepower. That’s considerably more than the U.S.-spec GTI’s 241-hp rating. The Edition 50 also features a specially tuned suspension setup with adaptive dampers and a lowered ride height. An available Performance package also shaves off about 55 pounds, and a set of semi-slick tires are optional too, all of which were presumably equipped on the model that set the record.
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Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.